Luke 11

11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain
place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him,
Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be
done, as in heaven, so in earth.
11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is
indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver
us from evil.
11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and
shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend
me three loaves;
11:6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have
nothing to set before him?
11:7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the
door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot
rise and give thee.
11:8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because
he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise
and give him as many as he needeth.
11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
11:10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will
he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish
give him a serpent?
11:12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came
to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the
people wondered.
11:15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub
the chief of the devils.
11:16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom
divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house
divided against a house falleth.
11:18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his
kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through
Beelzebub.
11:19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons
cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
11:20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the
kingdom of God is come upon you.
11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in
peace:
11:22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome
him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and
divideth his spoils.
11:23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth
not with me scattereth.
11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh
through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith,
I will return unto my house whence I came out.
11:25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
11:26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more
wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and
the last state of that man is worse than the first.
11:27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman
of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed
is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast
sucked.
11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word
of God, and keep it.
11:29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to
say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there
shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the
Son of man be to this generation.
11:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the
men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from
the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
11:32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the
preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
11:33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret
place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they
which come in may see the light.
11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is
single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine
eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
11:35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not
darkness.
11:36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part
dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright
shining of a candle doth give thee light.
11:37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with
him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
11:38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not
first washed before dinner.
11:39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the
outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is
full of ravening and wickedness.
11:40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that
which is within also?
11:41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold,
all things are clean unto you.
11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all
manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God:
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other
undone.
11:43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in
the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as
graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are
not aware of them.
11:45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master,
thus saying thou reproachest us also.
11:46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men
with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not
the burdens with one of your fingers.
11:47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and
your fathers killed them.
11:48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers:
for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them
prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and
persecute:
11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the
foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which
perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto
you, It shall be required of this generation.
11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of
knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were
entering in ye hindered.
11:53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the
Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to
speak of many things:
11:54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his
mouth, that they might accuse him.
Next Chapter

1-4 "Lord, teach us to pray," is a good Prayer, and a very
needful one, for JesusChrist only can teach us, By his Word andSpirit, how to pray. Lord, teach me what it is to pray; Lord,
stir up and quicken me to the duty; Lord, direct me what to pray
for; teach me what I should say. Christ taught them a Prayer,
much the same that he had given before in his sermon upon theMount. There are some differences in the words of the Lord'sPrayer in Matthew and in Luke, but they are of No moment. Let us
in our requests, both for others and for ourselves, come to our
heavenly Father, confiding in his power and Goodness.

5-13Christ encourages fervency and constancy in Prayer. We
must come for what we need, as a Man does to his neighbour or
friend, who is kind to him. We must come for Bread; for that
which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily,
yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to
pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary
in order to our praying Well, but as all spiritual blessings are
included in that one. For By the influences of the Holy Spirit
we are brought to know God and ourselves, to repent, believe in,
and LoveChrist, and So are made comfortable in this world, and
meet for happiness in the next. All these blessings our heavenlyFather is more ready to bestow On every one that asks for them,
than an indulgent parent is to give Food to a hungry Child. And
this is the advantage of the Prayer of Faith, that it quiets and
establishes the Heart in God.

14-26Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the
destroying of their power. The Heart of every unconverted sinner
is the Devil's Palace, where he dwells, and where he rules.
There is a kind of peace in the Heart of an unconverted soul,
while the Devil, as a strong Man armed, keeps it. The sinner is
secure, has No doubt concerning the Goodness of his state, nor
any dread of the Judgment to come. But observe the wonderful
change made in Conversion. The Conversion of a soul to God, isChrist's victory over the Devil and his power in that soul,
restoring the soul to its liberty, and recovering his own
interest in it and power over it. All the endowments of mind of
body are now employed for Christ. Here is the condition of aHypocrite. The House is swept from common sins, By a forcedConfession, as Pharaoh's; By a feigned contrition, as Ahab's; orBy a partial reformation, as Herod's. The House is swept, but it
is not washed; the Heart is not made holy. Sweeping takes off
only the loose dirt, while the Sin that besets the sinner, the
beloved Sin, is untouched. The House is garnished with commonGifts and graces. It is not furnished with any true Grace; it is
all Paint and varnish, not real nor lasting. It was never given
up to Christ, nor dwelt in By the Spirit. Let us take heed of
resting in that which a Man may have, and yet come short ofHeaven. The wicked spirits enter in without any difficulty; they
are welcomed, and they Dwell there; there they work, there they
rule. From such an awful state let all earnestly pray to be
delivered.

27,28 While the Scribes and Pharisees despised and blasphemed
the discourses of our LordJesus, this good Woman admired them,
and the Wisdom and power with which he spake. Christ led theWoman to a higher consideration. Though it is a great privilege
to hear the Word of God, yet those only are truly blessed, that
is, blessed of the Lord, that hear it, keep it in memory, and
keep to it as their way and rule.

29-36Christ promised that there should be one sign more given,
even the sign of Jonah the Prophet; which in Matthew is
explained, as meaning the Resurrection of Christ; and he warned
them to improve this sign. But though Christ himself were the
constant preacher in any Congregation, and worked miracles daily
among them, yet unless his Grace humbled their hearts, they
would not profit By his Word. Let us not desire more evidence
and Fuller teaching than the Lord is pleased to afford us. We
should pray without ceasing that our hearts and understandings
may be opened, that we may profit By the Light we enjoy. And
especially take heed that the Light which is in us be notDarkness; for if our leading principles be wrong, our Judgment
and practice must become more So.

37-54 We should all look to our hearts, that they may be
cleansed and new-created; and while we attend to the great
things of the Law and of the Gospel, we must not neglect the
smallest matter God has appointed. When any wait to catch
something out of our mouths, that they may ensnare us, O Lord,
give us thy prudence and thy patience, and disappoint their evil
purposes. Furnish us with such Meekness and patience that we mayGlory in reproaches, for Christ's sake, and that thy Holy Spirit
may Rest upon us.